The prosecutors have been gathering documents for at least
two months and are in talks with a former BNDES executive about
a potential collaboration, Veja said.

Spokespeople at BNDES and the prosecutors' federal office
did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

BNDES is the largest source of long-term corporate credit in
Brazil and is one of the world's largest development banks.

The bank ramped up lending under the administrations of the
Workers' Party between 2003 and 2015 as part of government
efforts to boost economic growth, offering subsidized credit to
several of Brazil's largest firms across sectors.

The investigation would be the latest in a series of massive
corruption probes in Brazil since prosecutors launched the
"Operation Carwash" in 2014, centered around a kickback scheme
at state-run oil company Petrobras.